With a view to improving cross-border payments, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) launched a public consultation on global targets for enhancing the payments process.
The FSB’s proposed targets set goals for improving the cost, speed, transparency and access to cross-border payments, which is a priority for the G20.
“Faster, cheaper, more transparent and more inclusive cross-border payment services, including remittances, which would have widespread benefits for citizens and economies worldwide, support economic growth, international trade, global development and financial inclusion,” the FSB said in its paper.
Additionally, innovation in the financial sector, which has the potential to “facilitate fast, low cost, transparent and scalable payments for a broad range of users,” has intensified the focus on enhancing payments systems, it noted.
To that end, the FSB has established a roadmap to improving global payments, along with the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and other international regulators and standards-setting bodies.
“The proposed targets have been developed so that they are directly related to the challenges, provide a clear indication of the extent of progress, are appropriately ambitious, can be readily communicated, and are meaningful to a wide range of stakeholders,” the FSB said.
There are proposed targets for three market segments: wholesale payments, retail payments, and remittances.
The FSB is also proposing to set the end of 2027 as the deadline for meeting most of these targets — except for improving the cost of remittances, which is slated for 2030 as a UN Sustainable Development Group goal.
The paper seeks comment on the proposed targets, how progress will be measured and monitored, and on data collection, among other issues.
A final report setting the targets will be published in October.
The public consultation closes on July 16.